1 Samuel 16

1 And YHWH says to Samuel, “Until when are you mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go, I send you to Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, for I have seen among his sons a king for Myself.”

And the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you go on sorrowing for Saul, seeing that I have put him from his place as king over Israel? Take oil in your vessel and go; I will send you to Jesse, the Beth-lehemite: for I have got a king for myself among his sons.

2 And Samuel says, “How do I go? When Saul has heard, then he has slain me.” And YHWH says, “You take a heifer of the herd in your hand, and have said, I have come to sacrifice to YHWH;

And Samuel said, How is it possible for me to go? If Saul gets news of it he will put me to death. And the Lord said, Take a young cow with you and say, I have come to make an offering to the Lord.

3 and you have called for Jesse in the sacrifice, and I cause you to know that which you do, and you have anointed for Me him of whom I speak to you.”

And send for Jesse to be present at the offering, and I will make clear to you what you are to do: and you are to put the holy oil on him whose name I give you.

4 And Samuel does that which YHWH has spoken, and comes to Beth-Lehem, and [the] elderly of the city tremble to meet him, and [one] says, “Is your coming peace?”

And Samuel did as the Lord said and came to Beth-lehem. And the responsible men of the town came out to him in fear and said, Do you come in peace?

5 And he says, “Peace; I have come to sacrifice to YHWH, sanctify yourselves, and you have come in with me to the sacrifice”; and he sanctifies Jesse and his sons, and calls them to the sacrifice.

And he said, In peace: I have come to make an offering to the Lord: make yourselves clean and come with me to make the offering. And he made Jesse and his sons clean, and sent for them to be present at the offering.

6 And it comes to pass, in their coming in, that he sees Eliab and says, “Surely His anointed [is] here before YHWH.”

Now when they came, looking at Eliab, he said, Clearly the man of the Lord's selection is before him.

7 And YHWH says to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance, and at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him; for [it is] not as man sees—for man looks at the eyes, and YHWH looks at the heart.”

But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not take note of his face or how tall he is, because I will not have him: for the Lord's view is not man's; man takes note of the outer form, but the Lord sees the heart.

8 And Jesse calls to Abinadab, and causes him to pass by before Samuel; and he says, “Indeed, YHWH has not fixed on this [one].”

Then Jesse sent for Abinadab and made him come before Samuel. And he said, The Lord has not taken this one.

9 And Jesse causes Shammah to pass by, and he says, “Indeed, YHWH has not fixed on this [one].”

Then Jesse made Shammah come before him. And he said, The Lord has not taken this one.

10 And Jesse causes seven of his sons to pass by before Samuel, and Samuel says to Jesse, “YHWH has not fixed on these.”

And Jesse made his seven sons come before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not taken any of these.

11 And Samuel says to Jesse, “Are the young men finished?” And he says, “Yet the youngest has been left; and behold, he delights himself among the flock”; and Samuel says to Jesse, “Send and take him, for we do not turn around until his coming in here.”

Then Samuel said to Jesse, Are all your children here? And he said, There is still the youngest, and he is looking after the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and make him come here: for we will not take our seats till he is here.

12 And he sends, and brings him in, and he [is] ruddy, with beautiful eyes, and of good appearance; and YHWH says, “Rise, anoint him, for this [is] he.”

So he sent and made him come in. Now he had red hair and beautiful eyes and pleasing looks. And the Lord said, Come, put the oil on him, for this is he.

13 And Samuel takes the horn of oil, and anoints him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of YHWH prospers over David from that day and onward; and Samuel rises and goes to Ramath.

Then Samuel took the bottle of oil, and put the oil on him there among his brothers: and from that day the spirit of the Lord came on David with power. So Samuel went back to Ramah.

14 And the Spirit of YHWH turned aside from Saul, and a spirit of sadness from YHWH terrified him;

Now the spirit of the Lord had gone from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord was troubling him.

15 and the servants of Saul say to him, “Now behold, a spirit of sadness [from] God is terrifying you;

And Saul's servants said to him, See now, an evil spirit from God is troubling you.

16 now let our lord command your servants before you [that] they seek a skillful man playing on a harp, and it has come to pass, in the spirit of sadness [from] God being on you, that he has played with his hand and [it is] well with you.”

Now give orders to your servants who are here before you to go in search of a man who is an expert player on a corded instrument: and it will be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will make music for you on his instrument, and you will get well.

17 And Saul says to his servants, “Now provide for me a man playing well—then you have brought [him] to me.”

And Saul said to his servants, Then get me a man who is an expert player, and make him come to me.

18 And one of the servants answers and says, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-Lehemite, skillful in playing, and a mighty, virtuous man, and a man of battle, and intelligent in word, and a man of form, and YHWH [is] with him.”

Then one of the servants in answer said, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Beth-lehemite, who is expert at playing, and a strong man and a man of war; and he is wise in his words, and pleasing in looks, and the Lord is with him.

19 And Saul sends messengers to Jesse and says, “Send to me your son David, who [is] with the flock.”

So Saul sent his servants to Jesse and said, Send me your son David who is with the sheep.

20 And Jesse takes a donkey, bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sends [them] by the hand of his son David to Saul.

And Jesse took five cakes of bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David.

21 And David comes to Saul, and stands before him, and he loves him greatly; and he is a bearer of his weapons.

And David came to Saul, waiting before him: and he became very dear to Saul, who made him his servant, giving him the care of his arms.

22 And Saul sends to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes.”

And Saul sent to Jesse saying, Let David be with me, for he is pleasing to me.

23 And it has come to pass, in the spirit of [sadness from] God being on Saul, that David has taken the harp, and played with his hand, and Saul has refreshment and gladness, and the spirit of sadness has turned aside from off him.

And whenever the evil spirit from God came on Saul, David took his instrument and made music: so new life came to Saul, and he got well, and the evil spirit went away from him.